When She Loved Him
by hundan
Summary: When she loved him, everything was beautiful. Every hour they spent together will always be held close to his heart.


**Short little one shot I came up with tonight, inspired by the song from Toy Story. Reference to that summer when Gibbs retired and episode Shalom.**

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><p>The times they spent together, they were the most beautiful moments in his memory. If a case was hard he would automatically find himself at her doorstep, movie and takeout in hand. That's how it all began. Boss, he was gone, hiding out on the sands of Mexico. He wasn't anywhere around to tell them this was a bad idea. Sure he reminded them when he had been in charge but now that he wasn't there to enforce it, they both became lost in the freedom they had.<p>

It may have begun as simple nights spent together with your partner, relaxing in the feeling of having someone there, someone to hang out with. But it grew into something more than they would have ever truly expected. They were lonely so it was only a matter of time spent together that they began to drift closer and closer until they eventually collided in a moment of true passion and beauty.

After that night they would never be the same. The connection they had had been molded in a whole new way, they weren't just partners anymore, they were lovers. They both didn't argue or confirm the fact, they just felt it there and let it be. There was no in depth conversation between them about what they were doing, they both just knew that they had each other and dated no one else. They always communicated with their eyes and touch much better than words.

After a while he wasn't just bringing over takeout and movies, she would cook him dinner or he for her. She taught him more piano than he already knew and gave him back the memories he had of when his mother used to teach him. He taught her how to dance, the waltz. And yes, Ziva didn't know how to waltz properly and it was the most romantic waltz he had ever experienced once they had come together. Because of her, and how intimate it had become between them. It was more than just friendship now.

And no, what they had was not just sex, it was much, much more than that. He had become attached, she had become attached. She had burrowed herself in his heart and he found himself unable to let her escape, he couldn't let her out. He loved her. And it was a good feeling to have someone there when you needed them the most.

When she was sad, he would be there for her. If she let her guard down enough and let her tough persona go, he was there to dry her tears. And she became less guarded around him. He was surprised she would ever let herself be that open with someone, considering her past. And he noticed that the Ziva he saw at home after work was a different Ziva to the one he was graced with at work. It was _his _Ziva, she was so much more personal and open with him. Because they had a personal relationship. Because she loved him.

Every hour he spent together with her he would forever hold in his memory. Every time she was happy so was he. She was infectious. Throughout that summer they had each other and it was some of the happiest moments of his life. It seemed as though they were meant to be forever. When she was lonely he was the one that was there for her, and he _knew_ that she loved him.

After the incident that ended in the return of Gibbs things were different. Something changed. He didn't know what happened and they didn't talk about it, he didn't know how to approach her on the topic. He was lost on what he was meant to do. He didn't want to lose her but he also didn't want to lose their partnership, if things got so bad he knew she would go home, to Israel and probably not come back. He couldn't live with her doing that. He needed her.

He knew she loved him but she brought a distance between them. The years started to pass by, he stayed the same but she began to drift away from him. She escaped his grasp but not his heart.

He was left alone. Still he waited and waited for the day when she would return to him and tell him how much she loved him. Tell him that she would always love him. He was torn apart by the fact he lost her, he felt as though he was never going to have her again and he pained at the memories that they had that summer, because he missed them so much. Because of how much he wanted them again.

He missed her lips on his skin and her warmth in his bed. He missed her hair that always used to get in his face and he missed her touch. He could try to find someone else for all those things but it was never the same. No one could compare to her. She was irreplaceable. He knew that no one else could fill that gap in his life except for her.

He began to give up on her, thinking that she would never return to him now, that she didn't love him anymore. He felt lonely and forgotten. He never thought she would look his way again. But then they shared a moment, she smiled at him and he felt it. He felt that spark they used to have. He held hope that she hadn't given up on him.

After all these years she had given up on trying to escape his love, his affection. She was scared because they had gotten so close and her father had been watching. She didn't want to be taken away from him. She couldn't do that, she couldn't be away from him. And then after the years, after she was finally safe from the grips of her father she thought he had moved on. Until that _day_.

He will always remember that day, she was upset, people around them kept dying and _he _was the one she had escaped to, he was the one she broke down to, he was the one to hold her as she cried. She held onto him like she used to, she looked at him, touched him, all like these things she did just like she used to. Like she loved him, like it was when she loved him.

They had that moment and they realized then that neither of them had truly let go of the other. They still loved each other, they had never let go of each other. And this time they did talk, they shared what they felt with words and not just their eyes and touch. This time they would let the other know how they felt, because this time, this time they would never let go.

And she still felt the same. She was warm in his bed just like he remembered. She touched, smelled and kissed the same. She was still the same. She still loved him and it hit him right in the centre of the heart thinking all they have missed, dawdling around each other and trying to avoid something that wasn't there when in fact it was always right there in front of them, waiting to be taken in their grasp again.

The moments they shared together were the most beautiful, he kept them in his mind, knowing tomorrow was another day and he would share all those memories again and again, until the day their last breath was taken from them they would be together. She loved him. He loved her. They both made sure the other knew that with everything they did. Everything they said.

When she loved him, everything was beautiful. Every hour they spent together will always be held close to his heart.

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><p><strong>Like? Dislike? :)<strong>

**Thanks for reading. **

**Hundan**


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